NFL Draft: Carolina Panthers trade up for Texas Tech’s Lee Hunter in second round
The Carolina Panthers selected a massive defender Friday during the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
With the 49th overall pick, the Panthers took Texas Tech defensive lineman Lee Hunter. The 23-year-old lineman joins offensive tackle Monroe Freeling, who was selected in Thursday’s first round, at the top of the team’s draft class.
Just before Hunter’s selection, the Panthers traded the 51st and 159th overall picks to the Minnesota Vikings for the 49th and 196th overall picks. Carolina moved up two spots by swapping a fifth-round pick for a sixth-round pick with Minnesota.
“The board was kind of thinning out at the time,” general manager Dan Morgan said. “We just felt like this is like the last guy that we kind of had in the higher rounds, and we just felt like, ‘Hey, let’s go get our guy,’ instead of kind of settling for somebody else. We were all just kind of like, ‘Let’s go get our guy.’ We were all convicted on him, not only as a player, but as a person.”
Hunter, listed as 6-foot-3 and 318 pounds, will join a positional depth chart that features Derrick Brown, Bobby Brown and Turk Wharton.
The Mobile, Alabama, native just wrapped up a one-year tenure with Texas Tech after starting his college career with Auburn and later Central Florida. During his time at Texas Tech, he produced 41 tackles (11 for loss) and 2.5 sacks. Hunter produced 172 total tackles (32 for loss), 7.5 sacks and a forced fumble during his collegiate career, which include three seasons at UCF.
At the NFL Scouting Combine in February, Hunter ran a 5.18-second 40-yard dash. He also posted a 21.5-inch vertical jump and an 8-foot-4 broad jump.
Hunter, who projects as a nose tackle in the Panthers’ 3-4 defense, is likely to compete with Bobby Brown at the nose tackle spot. He could also be used in the defensive rotation with Wharton, Derrick Brown and LaBryan Ray. The team also has 2025 fifth-round pick, Cam Jackson, in the mix on the defensive line.
“Let’s get him in here and see what he can do, just in our schemes, and that part will make sense for us,” head coach Dave Canales said. “When you’re an interior defensive lineman, it all starts with violence. And that’s one thing that he kind of characterized himself — ‘What’s your play style?’ (He responds) ‘violence.’ He repeatedly said violence. So, just the way that he’s disruptive and explosive at the line of scrimmage, and then we’ll figure out the pieces from there. But we have a really good group in there — versatile guys that we can use in different ways.”
“And I would add, too, the way that we play our D-line, like there’s really not like starters,” Morgan said. “We’re rotating a bunch, so (Hunter) is just going to be in that rotation. He can play nose (tackle), he can play a little (defensive) end in the 3-4 (front). So, he brings a lot of versatility.”
The Panthers have selected a defensive lineman in each of Morgan’s first three draft classes. In 2024, the team selected Jaden Crumedy in the sixth round. Jackson was selected last year, while Hunter joins the group as the highest-drafted defensive lineman of the Morgan era.
Morgan, in keeping with tradition, has made at least one second-round trade in each of his first three drafts. Last year, Morgan traded up for outside linebacker Nic Scourton. He traded back and then up to select running back Jonathon Brooks in 2024.
Panthers’ draft picks:
First round: Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia (19th overall)
Second round: Lee Hunter, DT, Texas Tech (49th overall via MIN)
Third round: Chris Brazzell II, WR, Tennessee (83rd overall)
Fourth round (1): 119th overall
Fifth round (1): 158th overall (via MIN)
Sixth round (2): 196th overall (via MIN), 200th overall
This story was originally published April 24, 2026 at 8:29 PM with the headline "NFL Draft: Carolina Panthers trade up for Texas Tech’s Lee Hunter in second round."
